There have been a lot of developments the past several weeks in South Carolina regarding application of the state’s Freedom of Information Act.
◆ The state Supreme Court heard arguments last month on the issue of whether the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce is subject to the law because it receives allocations of hotel occupancy tax revenue for the chamber’s role in marketing the area.

Editor’s note: Mick Mulvaney discussed the Senate’s tax-reform bill on CBS’ “Face the Nation” Sunday. Here are excerpts of his conversation with host John Dickerson, starting with an amendment to the bill last week that would scrap the Affordable Care Act’s mandate that individuals buy health insurance or pay a penalty.

I can’t stop thinking about the 11th paragraph of a Nov. 8 story on our front page.
A 44-year-old Lancaster man was accused of trying to break in on his estranged wife, screaming that he would dismember her and a fellow she was with. He had arrived with a .38 revolver, a knife, an axe, a metal baton and a set of throwing knives, according to the incident report.
In the 11th graph, the suspect told the arresting deputy: “I could have come over here with my AK-47 and AR-15 and… nobody would have had a chance.”

The first recorded use of the word “philanthropy” was in the Greek play “Prometheus Bound,” written about 460 BCE.
In the play, Prometheus creates mankind out of clay. In the beginning, his creatures have no culture (no knowledge, skills, arts, science, technology), so they live in darkness, in caves, in fear for their lives. Out of his philanthropos tropos, or humanity-loving nature, Prometheus continues to develop his creatures by giving them two gifts: fire, which symbolizes culture, and “blind hope,” representing optimism.

Editor’s note: The writer is a Democrat from Sumter who lost to Republican Ralph Norman in this year’s special election for the 5th District congressional seat. Parnell is running for the office again in 2018. Norman’s views on the GOP tax-reform bill ran in this space Sunday.

My father used to tell me to believe half of what you see and even less of what you hear. When it comes to what people in Washington or in the media have to say about tax policy, that’s usually pretty good advice.

Mark Manicone’s Oct. 25 article about Archie Parnell’s new campaign for Congress had me asking questions. After careful consideration, here are my views.
Parnell takes President Trump’s basic ideas that the USA needs good jobs, tax changes and strong communities. He claims Congress – that’s the House and Senate – has not accomplished anything over the last months.

My name is Cleavon Belk and I’m writing for myself and my brother, Donnie R. Belk of the Buford community.
Our nephew Eric T. Belk of Buford died in a house fire in the early morning on Sunday, Oct. 15.
We would like to thank the Buford Volunteer Fire Department’s firefighters for their heroic actions, and all firefighters from the other cities and communities who responded to this fire as well.
My brother would like to encourage the community to support their local volunteer fire departments financially and in any other way that they can.